Sources tell me that Junior Vasquez has invited Shirley Q. Liquor and her racist blackface alcoholic welfare mama drama to host a party he's throwing at Club Spirit on the day our nation celebrates the life of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The following is the e-mail and press release that Kenyon sent to me:
Honor the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior by Giving the Boot to Shirley Q!
Junior Vasquez is hosting a MLK Jr. Day party and has invited Shirley Q. Liquor to emcee. Many in the community will remember this racist and offensive act in which Chuck Knipp- a white man, puts on blackface and plays a Black woman who is a welfare recipient with 19 children. Lesbian Gay Bisexual Two Spirit and Trans People Of Color and allies in NYC have said no to Shirley Q. twice before, and this time we are taking it one step further! We will be awarding the "Jesse Helms Award for Profiting from Racism and Misogyny on Martin Luther King Jr. Day” to Chuck Knipp, Junior Vasquez and Club Spirit. Please join us by coming out to chant and participate in a press conference to send a message that we don't support businesses that profit from racism, woman bashing, and classism. The press conference will start at 1pm, so we are asking supporters to arrive by 12:30. We are hoping to be done by 2pm, so folks can move on to honor this important national holiday.
When:
Monday, January 17, 12:30 pmWhere:
Club Spirit
530 West 27th, between 10th and 11th Ave.
C/E Train to 23rd and 8th Ave.Thanks and see you there!
If you have any questions, please contact:
Trishala Deb
Program Coordinator, Training and Resource Center
718.596.0342 x.12
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
- Kenyon Farrow (917.627.0853)
- Trishala Deb, Audre Lorde Project (917.488.6701)
- Colin Robinson, New York State Black Gay Network (917.482.9014)
OUTRAGE AS BLACKFACE PERFORMER RETURNS TO NEW YORK CITY ON MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
(New York, New York) January 14, 2005 -- This Martin Luther King Day, Monday, January 17th 2005, community members from all over NYC will gather at 1 pm outside Spirit, at 530 West 27th St, between 10th and 11th Avenues to present the “Jesse Helms Award for Profiting from Racism and Misogyny on Martin Luther King Jr. Day” to Chuck Knipp, Junior Vasquez and Club Spirit. Knipp, has made a career of performing in blackface drag primarily for gay audiences around the US, as “Shirley Q. Liquor,” an Ebonics-speaking African American welfare recipient with nineteen children. Joint recipients of the award are the well-known house music DJ Junior Vasquez, and Spirit, the club hosting his Martin Luther King Jr. Day party, at which Shirley Q. Liquor is appearing.
The LGBTST POC community is using the award to highlight the three recipients’ roles in using racism and misogyny to make money on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Organizations include the Audre Lorde Project, Gay and Lesbian Dominicans Empowered, New York State Black Gay Network, South Asian Lesbian Gay Association, and Yo Sistah! It is not the first time that Knipp’s visits to large cities have spurred demonstrations and controversy. On the heels of Boston venues canceling his appearances in 2002, a scheduled run at New York’s View Bar was ended when the opening performance was shut down by the NYPD after protestors showed up. Chanting protesters disturbed a show at the Marquee in 2004 during Black History Month in 2004.
“This is absolutely not a free speech issue. Part of the legacy of Dr. King is understanding that just because something is legal, that doesn’t make it right – slavery? segregation? poverty? homophobia?” said Colin Robinson, Executive Director of New York State Black Gay Network. “The right to say some things doesn’t change the way those words and images inflict violence on Black women.”
Addressing organizers’ claims that the broad LGBT community is making money off of racism and misogyny, Kris Hayashi, Executive Director of the Audre Lorde Project said, “Somebody’s got to hold Chuck Knipp and these businesses accountable. Housing, employment, police violence, immigration rights, the government’s war on terrorism – these are the issues facing LGBTST People of Color, while others in our own community inflict additional violence on us.”
Press Conference Location:
Club Spirit @ 1pm
530 West 27th St.
Between 10th and 11th Ave.Endorsing Organizations Include (Endorsements are still pending): Audre Lorde Project, Gay and Lesbian Dominicans Empowered, New York State Black Gay Network, South Asian Lesbian Gay Association, Yo Sistah!
related links:
- Sept 2002 - "Protests Close Shirley Q. Liquor Drag Minstrel Show"
- press release pdf: send this link or download and distribute
- Club Spirit's message board: tell them how you feel
- MLK Day of Service: things to do in your area
These m.f.’ers can always rationalize why it’s supposedly “not” racist. But if it’s just about the humor why don’t they do white characters?
this is so offensive & clueless that it is almost comedy. obviously the tragic sort…it says volumes about the true nature of junior vasquez & this so called gay club. are we to believe that this racist clown is booked on Dr. King’s holiday merely by coincidence? it is just too much. i for one will never contribute one slim cent to any endeavors of either vasquez or “spirit”. we who believe in freedom cannot rest, truly.